STGB Episode 482

The Big Fish (4)

The moment[Veil of Betrayal] reactivated and my allies disappeared from sight—

Bzzzzt—

The shell surrounding Dread Fear cracked, revealing it once again.

Its skin looked like it was covered in wax. And its face was devoid of any recognisable features, save for a single, large eye planted right in the centre.

And in its hands, it held a massive bone greatsword.

Its appearance was the same as before it used the [Protective Mechanism].

「The feeling of hatred deepens.」

A buff added as soon as its groggy state ended.

「The memories etched into the bones deepen 」

Hmm, is that about average?

Srrrrrlk.

Sharp spikes began to protrude from its greatsword. This was one of the five types of buffs that exist in the third phase, and it affects the weapon…

From now on I have to be really careful.

Since it’s a damage-enhancing buff, I adjusted my battle strategy a bit.

Kwaaaaang!

I still focused on defending with my shield, but I avoided taking direct hits to my body.

Weapon buffs are tricky, even for me.

Like this.

「Sharp spikes pierce the character’s body.」

「Continuously drains the character’s soul energy.」

The buffed sword now has an MP drain effect, and this effect stacks based on the number of hits taken.

However, there’s one thing to be cautious about.

「The Lord of Terror, Dreadfear’s hatred level increases in proportion to the amount of MP drained.」

Whether it’s from the weapon, the armor, or the eye itself, all buffs in Phase 3 contribute to the growth of the ‘hate’ stat. And once this stat reaches its maximum, an extremely troublesome additional buff will activate

When Hate triggers, the raid may as well be over.

At that stage, the raid itself is no longer the main issue – you have to worry about your own survival.

So…

Whoosh!

When it is difficult to block, step back and evade.

Tadah.

[Lord of fear Dread Fear has cast [Inner Mirror]

「Fixed damage is dealt in proportion to your reduced mental stats.」

Coughing up blood, I endure the unavoidable instant-cast skill.

「The Lord of Terror, Dreadfear, has cast [Memories of the Dead].」

Versil helped to deal with the bombs floating in the air like soap bubbles.

[Versil Gowland has cast Level 6 Summoning Magic [Life Doll]

[Kyaaaaaaah—!]

After meticulously following the strategy for quite a while

Isn’t it almost over?

Just as that thought popped into my head—

「A light of trust dispels the fear that dwells within」

「[Shroud of Betrayal] is temporarily lifted.」

As the brilliant light flashed again, illuminating the dark cave, Dreadfear screamed in pain and covered itself with its shell again.

[The Lord of Terror, Dreadfear, has cast [Protective Mechanism]

If we fail to break this shell again, it will receive another new buff, making the next phase even more difficult.

But I wasn’t too worried.

“Erwin.”

At this point, it’s safe to say she’s nearly graduated.

Erwin fornacci de tersia has summoned [Dark Spirit King, Di Cloe]

It’s time to move on to the final phase.

****
The Lord of Terror, Dreadfear.

A floor boss that doesn’t usually give any special rewards, even when fought by a party of thirty. People usually only tackle it for clan rank assessments or attempts at subjugation.

However, this guy has a hidden piece.

Well, it’s not exactly hidden, as it’s widely known in the city through the tales of ancient heroes.

[If you succeed in defeating it with five people, you can obtain an incredible reward.]

Of course, there are two errors in this information.

Firstly, it’s not that you need exactly five people – just fewer than five.

And the reward isn’t really that incredible.

It’s more like a normal reward.

The reason the rumour was so inflated is probably this:

[If you succeed, it will be the tenth achievement since the Last Great Sage].

Five-person teams are extremely rare.

And those who have succeeded have all left their mark on history.

The Abyss Seeker, Limenin.

The Fairy King, Armella.

The Sea Dragon Slayer, Mylmarin.

All these great explorers of the past have one thing in common.

It was enough to ignite the desire in later explorers to challenge them, and countless people summoned the Lord of Terror in their footsteps.

And for most, it was their last appearance.

‘Well, that’s natural. How many bosses can you clear on your first try?’

I was only able to figure out the strategy because I had challenged it multiple times during the game.

If I had gone in blind, it would have been the same for me.

Reality and games are different.

You only get one chance.

If you fail, it’s game over, and you don’t even get the opportunity to try again using the knowledge from your failure.

‘……I’m actually curious how the people before me cleared it.’

What strategy did they use?

Was it the same as mine?

Or did they just overpower it with sheer stats?

I have no way of knowing.

All ten teams that succeeded in defeating it remained completely silent about their strategies.

‘This is also a bit hard to understand…’

It’s the explorers’ habit to monopolize high-level information and not share it publicly.

I don’t know why they kept this a secret when they made a map of the sixth floor, distributed it for free, and generously revealed information about the 10th floor, which was previously rare.

‘……Well, it’s not something I need to worry about right now.’

Hmm… Or is it?

Suddenly, I felt something strange—

Kwa kwa kwa kwa bang—!

While I was pondering the cause of this indescribable sensation…

「The Lord of Terror, Dreadfear’s [Protective Mechanism] has been dispelled.」

The thick shell shattered into pieces, and black mist began to seep out.

So, I immediately gave the order.

“Stop.”

There’s no point in attacking further—it’ll just waste MP.

We need to conserve MP as much as possible.

“Good job. It must have been tough.”

“Yes…”

“Everyone, gather up!”

I called my comrades to gather behind me and prepared for the impending shock.

[Kyaaaaaah—!!]

The black mist flowed out, emitting a sound like nails scraping on a chalkboard.

Soon, the amount of mist decreased, and a pair of crimson eyes glowed from within the cracked shell.

‘Wow, that’s one menacing glare.’

I took a deep breath and faced the creature.

「The Lord of Terror, Dreadfear feels a great threat from your party.」

We had now reached the beginning of the 4th phase.

This was effectively the biggest turning point in the raid.

Thud, thud.

The creature, which had been hiding inside the shell, slowly walked out.

First, it was a maggot.

Then, it was black mist.

Third, it was covered in a waxy shell.

Now, it had taken on the distinct shape of a human.

Thud.

Pale blue-veined skin.

Exposed ribs and bony limbs.

Long, ashen hair hung down, and now it had eyes, a nose and a mouth.

Unfortunately, they weren’t in the right places – as if they’d been put there at random.

But yeah, at this point it’s a humanoid monster, right?

Roll, roll.

An eyeball under its chin rolled around.

Crackle.

Blood dripped from its nose, where its right eye should have been.

Drag, drag.

Meanwhile, the bone greatsword attached to its hand dragged along the ground, making an irritating noise.

Thud, thud.

The creature was soaked in a sticky liquid, as if it had just been pulled out of amniotic fluid.

Thud.

It stopped and glanced at us.

[Kyehehehehek!]

It roared loudly, opening its mouth where its nose should be.

「There are fewer than 5 characters within the radius.」

「Special Condition – Ancient Memory has been fulfilled.」

「The feeling of terror embedded within the Lord of Terror, Dreadfear, has been revived.」

[Fragments of memory spill out and begans to warp the surrounding space.]

All right, now we just need to move on to the 5-player clear exclusive map and finish the raid…

Flash!

A blinding light erupted and the world flickered.
“…….”
I froze.

“Where… is this?”

An unfamiliar field stretched out before me.

***
Hans… Hans Delvain…

The more Amelia thought about that ominous name, the more uneasy she felt, and she paused the interrogation for a moment.

Of course, that pause was extremely brief.

‘……It’s probably nothing.’

Yeah, so…

‘Let’s focus on my task.’

She put her worries aside and returned to the interrogation.

Just when she had started the conversation, and it would be unfortunate if he clammed up again.

“Where do you live?”

“…Zone 9.”

“Have you ever met Count Alminus?”

“…No.”

She continued to ask questions, and if she felt he was lying, she simply administered punishment without a word.

After how many times did she repeat this?

“I-I’m telling the truth… I only took the request from the black market… I don’t even know who the client is…”

Soon, she intuitively realized.

This was the truth, and she likely wouldn’t be able to extract any further information through interrogation.

‘…Ultimately, I couldn’t find a connection with Count Alminas.’

It was a shame, but what could she do?
“……”

Afterward, Amelia meticulously checked the belongings again, just in case she had missed something earlier.

And she noticed something strange.

‘…Paralysis poison?’

The weapon that had stabbed him was coated with poison.

From the taste, it seemed to be a low-grade poison based on goblin venom…

‘Why would they use something like this…?’

The more she thought about it, the more it didn’t make sense.

First of all, a high-rank explorer like him wouldn’t be affected by such a low-grade poison.

But… they used this?

When there are so many other potent poisons available?

“Why did you use goblin poison?”

“goblin poison…?”

The man’s answer, as if he knew nothing, only deepened her unease.

“I… never used paralysis poison… Why would I use such a thing?”

Amelia then shifted her gaze to the man next to him. He had been silent from the start, and even now he remained tight-lipped, staring into the void with a resigned expression.

“……”

Amelia quickly checked the man’s weapon as well.

Surprisingly, it was also coated with goblin poison.

And the moment she realised –

Flash!

A light spread from the centre of the battlefield, where the sounds of battle had been coming from, and silence followed.

It meant that her comrades had already moved on to the next phase.

Amelia summoned a clone and sent it into the empty cave.

There were four bodies in the cave.

When she checked their weapons, she found that they too were coated in goblin poison.

Was this a coincidence?

No, it couldn’t be.

‘Something…’

Something ominous was happening.

Instinctively sensing this, Amelia grabbed the collar of the other man.

“…Tell me. Why did you coat your weapons with goblin poison?”

“……”

Even now – just as he hadn’t uttered a single groan under all the brutal torture – the man remained silent.

Srrng-!

Amelia drew her dagger and pressed it against the man’s neck.

Squish.

As soon as she applied pressure, blood began to seep out.

But the man’s expression didn’t change.

While it had seemed like a look of resignation before, now it appeared different.

“Who… are you?”

At that question, the man finally spoke.

“Who knows?”

His calm reply.

The moment Amelia pushed the dagger in a little harder—

Clank—!

An unknown force deflected the dagger.

Thud, thud.

The man, who had been lying on the ground, stood up, brushing off his knees.

“That guy has good people with him. I didn’t even have to step in, you’ve already pieced things together. With such intuition, you’ll be a great help for the remaining journey.”

His words made no sense in that context.

Amelia, raising her killing intent, asked.

“Who are you? What is your purpose?”

“Since you still care for him in this situation, it seems you won’t betray him…”

The man looked down, appraising her, then chuckled and continued.

“Don’t see it that way. I’m just helping his fate move in the right direction.”

“…”

“You know? Bjorn Jandel has a very interesting destiny. He grows stronger through trials.”

The man tapped Amelia’s shoulder.

“For example, what if the mage hadn’t died that day in the labyrinth? Do you think he would have become the great hero he is today? For a guy whose priority was to survive on his own?”

No, that can’t be.

The man added these words with a smile.

“So don’t worry. He’ll come back just fine this time.”

Amelia grabbed the remaining dagger, ready for any sudden move.

“So what’s your reason for telling me this?”

Even as she asked, her gaze never stopped searching for an opening in the man.

But.

“The reason I told you kindly is simple.”

She couldn’t find an opening.

“Amelia Rainweilz.”

A clear voice rang in her ears.

“Haven’t you always been easily fooled by illusion magic?”

“…!”

“Rest now.”

Even until the moment his fingertips touch her forehead